paws for thought
Hello travel lovers! After the amazing experience at the elephant orphanage (see last week's column - I'm still reeling from how wonderful it was, even though I've just got back from an equally incredible trip to Sichuan to see some cuddly black and white pals, and the editor is going to send me to the North Pole to become a polar bear biscuit ...) - I felt was time for some culture.
We drove for an hour to Kandy, in the centre of Sri Lanka. Kandy has been named a world heritage site by Unesco (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).
It was the last royal capital of Sri Lanka and is the second largest city on the island. It is home to the Temple of the Tooth Relic, a very important temple for Buddhists, as it is where one of Buddha's teeth rests.
The tooth relic was smuggled from India around the 4thcentury (a princess hid it in her hair), and kept in several different places around Sri Lanka until the present temple was built in the 16th century.
Three times a day, offerings are made to the tooth, as if attending to Buddha himself. Once a week, the tooth relic is washed, and the water used to wash it is given to worshippers.
The temple is beautifully decorated, with lots of hand-carved wooden pillars and gold leaf. One interesting feature was the carving of the makara. This is a mythical creature with the trunk of an elephant, the head of a crocodile, the feet of a lion, the ear of a pig, the body of a fish, and the tail of a peacock. I'm glad they don't exist. I wouldn't stand a chance against a real one!
As well as the fine temple, Kandy is famous for its annual Esala Perahera, the festival of the tooth. We were just two days too early (the deputy ed said we couldn't stay because we'd miss her friends' wedding; meanie), but it's meant to be spectacular. The festival lasts for 10 days, during which the streets are filled with elephants and traditional dancers. The tooth relic is placed in a special casket on the back of an elephant, and marched through the city so that everyone can see it. We saw some of the preparations, including stacks of torches for fire dancers, and men polishing silver decorations.
As we drove away from the city, and looked down at the beautiful lakeside, I wished my trip was longer. I'm just going to have to go back another year to join the party!
